Sviatoslav Richter - Piano Concertos (1969-1979) [2021 4xSACD Definition Serie]

This 4-disc set contains 8 piano concertos recorded from 1969 to 1979 (EMI has another piece, Beethoven with Karajan: Triple Concerto, but this time it is a solo piano concerto. ). The first recordings, Brahms' No. 2 and Bartók's No. 5, were performed with Maazel & Paris Orchestra, and this is the first concerto recording for EMI. According to Mr. Ryosuke Masuda, who is writing the commentary this time, Richter's memoir describes the Paris Orchestra at the time of recording, and there was a sentence that Maazel had a tough fight. There are many other interesting quotes from Richter. Of course, it is true that the performance is convincing as a result. Also, his impressions of co-starring with Kleiber, which he highly appreciated as a conductor (it was the only co-starring board and the only recording of Kleiber's concerto in the session), and his high evaluation of Grieg with Matacic. Interesting content follows. These recordings of Richter, who is full of his middle-aged techniques, are all important sound sources in the history of records, and each is known as a masterpiece. We took this into account when developing the product. It is a recording peculiar to EMI, and it is recorded in various places, so the sound quality of each is completely different. The piano was created with a sense of distance from the background and a blended sound so that it would not be too exhilarating. This is probably Richter's idea, and he probably emphasized the overall balance so as not to be too flashy. It's interesting that the nuance is different from his recordings for other labels, and it reminds me of his stoic obsession with his own piano. The quality of the recordings has improved in later years, and the piano stands out particularly beautifully in Dvořák recorded in 1976, and the high-frequency reverberation at low notes is even sensual. In addition, Muti's two works are excellent, including the balance, and the clear sound of the orchestra is enough to shudder. In addition, the last Mozart sound source has been used for a long time since it was made into a CD, but for some reason the early digital master has been used for a long time. I tried it and found out why. Probably because there was a defect in the analog master of 2ch, it seems that it has been used as it is. This time, instead of the conventional 2-channel analog master for CD masters, we were able to exceptionally use higher-level multi-channel masters, so the sound quality has changed completely (new mixing). Its clarity and precision were of a quality that I had never heard before. In that sense, this Mozart, which was the last concerto recording on the old EMI label, is valuable.

*As it is a machine translation, the result may not provide an accurate description.
Please use it only as a reference.



Tracks:

Disc 1
1. Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83
2. Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2, Sz 95

Disc 2
3. Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
4. Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54

Disc 3
5. Antonín Dvořák: Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33
6. Sergey Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 in G Major, Op. 55

Disc 4
7. Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
8. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-Flat Major, K. 482

Personnel:

Sviatoslav Richter, piano
Orchestre de Paris (1, 2)
Monte-Carlo National Opera Orchestra (3, 4)
Bavarian State Orchestra (5)
London Symphony Orchestra (6)
The Philharmonia Orchestra (7, 8)
Conductor:
Lorin Maazel (1, 2, 6)
Lovro von Matačić (3, 4)
Carlos Kleiber (5)
Riccardo Muti (7, 8)

Recorded:
October 24-28 (1), October 28-31 & November 3 (2), 1969, Salle Wagram, Paris
November 24-30, 1974, Paiais Gamier, Monte Carlo (3, 4)
June 18-21, 1976, Burgrbrau, Munich (5)
June 16-17, 1970, Kingsway Hall, London (6)
September 19-20, 1977 (7), April 5-6, 1979 (8), Abbey Road, London